title: Medication adherence in patients with epilepsy after a single neurologist visit in rural India.
abstract: In India, there are less than 2000 neurologists, and an estimated 5 million patients have epilepsy. With such limited neurological care available, novel treatment approaches for epilepsy are necessary. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a mobile clinic in treating epilepsy. Patients from two mobile clinic stop locations in northern India were contacted 7 and 9 months later for an in-person or over-the-phone survey. Of the 306 eligible patients who had been seen in the selected cities, 142 were interviewed, 72.5% of whom reported that they were still taking medications; among medication-naïve patients, 50.9% were still taking medications. The one-time clinic is effective and could be a model for working towards reducing the wide rural epilepsy treatment gap in India and other countries. Creative follow-up mechanisms need to be developed.
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Institute, Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bigelow
authors.forename: Vineeta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Mamta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians; D012424:Rural Population; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Epilepsy; Global Health; India; Mobile clinics; Outcomes research; Treatment gap